The Idea is Implemented

The idea of cooperative living was conceived by Bur Lutz, and it persisted in his mind. He knew there had to be a better way to live. There were women's cooperative houses already on campus. Why couldn't men do the same thing? Well, the University considered it unthinkable that a group of men could operate a house on their own. But Bur did not give up. He launched hte idea slowly, carefully, and with great effort. First, he approached Garrett Loy with the idea. But Garrett did not think it would work. Yet, he eventually agreed to participate. By the fall term of 1937, their sophomore year, the two of them had worked our some details to put the idea into action.

Throughout that semester, Bur observed and studied about every agriculture student he could, mentally noting those whom he thought would be most suitable for cooperative living. Then came the difficult job of talking them into joining an untitled, risky venture. Most of the desirable men were expectedly reluctant to give up their relatively secure board and/or room jobs. This proved to be especially true later on when the time approached to make the decision whether to try to start the house and the only suitable house to be found was a long distance from the new agriculture building, now known as Mumford Hall.

Walt Parks was possibly the first student contacted after Garrett Loy to become a part of the embryonating organization. Walt and Burfirst met across a lab table in qualitative chemistry. At the time, Walt was washing pots and pans in a restaurant, working one hour a day for each meal and another hour for his one-third share of a room above the restaurant. So, he was secure and had no desire to give that up, even though the cooperative idea was appealing to him. After Bur gradually found others who were somewhat reluctantly willing to give it a try, he enticed Walt to make the move, assigning him to help Bur cook and keep house in exchange for his room and meals.

Just how Sam Ridlen and Bonard Wilson first met Bur and came to know the other three founders cannot be pinpointed, but it was through a succession of contacts and associations. All five men were active in the Agriculture Club, most were involved in the YMCA, and they took many of the same courses. Garrett and Walt were active in Wesley Foundation and interacted there often. Bur, Sam, and Willie were active in University Place Christian Church, having frequent contacts there. Now, the five men, who were to eventually become the founders, were known. Things were beginning to move forward at last, but many trials and tribulations were to come.

The 1937-38 academic year was passing rapidly, and Bur was searching for a house to rent, a nearly non-existent item at the time. But eventually, he located one with enough room for 10 men located at 410 W. High St., Urbana, 14 blocks from Mumford Hall. It would be available for the spring semester of 1938. Or, so he thought.

It was almost not to be, though, for much to Bur's consternation, the "tough old lawyer" landlord withdrew the lease about three days before the move-in date and tried to sell the house. He finally let Bur have it at the eleventh hour, but Bur had to prevail upon his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Lutz or rural Sciota, Ill., to sign a two-year lease because he was not yet 21.

Bur then borrowed enough money to buy a used car and enough used beds, chairs, and study tables for 10 men. He located a source of low-cost food and asked the men to bring any farm produce that they could from home. Bur's mother helped clean the house and put up curtains. She recalled her trip to campus this way: "It was quite a trip, car loaded with bedding, curtains, cooking utensils, canned food, meat, etc. It was a big job, making the house livable."

The University considered it unthinkable that a group of men could operate a house on their own. Fraternity members could live in and operate their houses without a housemother, but independent men could not. If it had been necessary, Burdette B. Lutz's mother would have moved in.

Though never told, the landlord assumed that Burdette's parents were going to move in and operate the house. The Assistant Dean of Men drew the same conclusion. All of the men agreed that Mr. and Mrs. Lutz deserved a lot of credit and gratitude for the strong and material support they provided.

Nabor House's situation underscored, particularly for the early members, the difference with which the University regulated the Greeks and Independents at that time. Fraternity members could live in and operate their houses without a housemother, while Independent men could not. This was to pose a serious challenge over the next year and a half, but more about that later. Besides, if it had been necessary, Mrs. Lutz would have moved in.

Finding enough high-quality, stable men, essential for a sound beginning, was now a critical issue. Willie Wilson was committed to a meal job and could not participate in the kitchen duties, although he was able to live in the house. Sam Ridlen had meal and room jobs and could not move in until the fall semester. So, it became necessary to take some men who were not prime candidates for membership; others were to have living accommodations only until more members could be added.

Paul Stone, B.S., '40, and J.D., '42, also lived in the house the fall semester of 1938. A practicing attorney in his native Sullivan after graduation, he later became a state legislator and a member of the U of I Board of Trustees from 1978-84, serving a stint as chairman of the Trustees.

So true cooperative living and organizational development, except finding prospective members for the 1938-39 school year, were placed on hold. Burdette and Walt did the cooking and general houseework, and the others paid for their room and meals. Most found the rooms more comfortable and the food more varied than they had elsewhere, but no doubt, they still remember the oft-repeated appearance of mashed potatoes, gravy, and diced carrots and peas on the dining table. Another frequently served, and perhaps less than fondly remembered, food item was "fish-eye" dessert, a large-grain tapioca pudding that Bur bought in bulk at an attractive price.

"On a house bill of $14.50 a month," Walt said, "Bur and I housed and fed 10 men -- some still worked for their meals outside the house and paid less -- and we almost broke even. Bur's parents made up our loss." Despite now living in improved conditions, some of the men objected to two people doing the work and living off the house payments of the others. They had been sold on the idea of a cooperative and wanted to organize and get on with cooperative living. But, the need to find the right men still remained. Consequently, implementation of cooperative living was shelved for that first semester.

Problems with the University also had to be handled. All students were required to live in approved housing, and a men's cooperative, especially one without a house mother, was definitely not approved. Burdette Lutz, being the "on-site lessee," shouldered the brunt of this responsibility. He finally won the Dean of Men's temporary approval to have a faculty member live in the house as adviser. Arthur Maack, graduate student in and Instructor of Dairy Manufacturers, served in that capacity. But the challenge was not over. A "Running duel" with the University ensued. The dates of the contacts with the University's administrators and their sequence are not recorded, and memories dimmed by more than 50 years afford limited and imprecise recall. Nonetheless, acquiring recognition is worth noting, because the positions of both Bur and the house were very precarious, and all too frequently, the group's future hung in the balance. No one, even in that original group, can fully comprehend and appreciate the pressures and crises which Bur underwent.

Bur received notice that he was subject to disciplinary action for operating a house without a housemother. He stoutly maintained that the group did not have the money to hire one. Even though the Dean had granted temporary approval if there was a faculty member in residence, Bur still had to appear before a Dean's group consisting of the Dean of Men, the Dean of Women, Assistant Dean, and two or three students to explain the situation. Pretty formidable stuff for an underclassman in an era when administrators ruled with firmness and markedly greater rigidity than seen on today's campuses. In the hearing, the Assistant Dean read the house's objectives to the group and was asked whether he had made an inspection visit. He answered affirmatively, but none of the Nabors-to-be ever knew when, if indeed it did ever happen. He indicated that from his perspective, the men in the house were OK.

The Dean's group seemed impressed with Bur's presentation and granted permission for the house to continue on a probationary basis for a year or as long as no complaint was filed against the group. At last, the budding organization had a degree of reprieve, but more pressure would come before lasting approval was granted.